Artist In Residence – Dan Rieple

Join Master Artisan, Dan Rieple for “Mind the Gap” workshop Sept 9-11, from 10am-12pm. Dan fell in love with woodworking when he was fourteen. His dad, a bricklayer, had already stirred his interest, so his time in the Industrial Arts program at high school and subsequent Industrial Arts degree equipped him for the last thirty years in the profession. Dan prefers to work in wood of all varieties but especially the more obscure and less desirable as they tend to be quite different. Dan says, wood is like an artist’s canvas that is already half painted. We wood workers/artists just have to do the other half of what is already beautiful and try to increase the beauty and or functionality. Dan is adamant that art furniture should not be a hands-off object. Art furniture should possess a quality that invites the viewer to touch and feel it, as a necessary part of the whole experience. His inspirations range from major life experiences, the wilds of nature, and cultures he’s traveled among, and influences range from masters like Mondrian to Mackintosh, and movements like Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau.